Dogs of War
by Edward Foster
Summary: War...You think you know what war is! I've seen things you wouldn't see in your worst night terrors. You don't know what I've done to stay alive, and I did it all with the help of my comrades. We are the government's scapegoats...The Dogs of War.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter

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1

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Into The Kennel

"_When I think about Greatness, I think about accomplishment, I think that greatness is something people use to meet there goals in life. Greatness is when you prove people wrong by doing things they said you couldn't do"_

_~Unknown Writer_

Agent James Lawson sighed impatiently as the elevator slowly groaned down to his desired floor. He was tense, his superiors had personally requested him to go through this mission on his own, due to his various experience in the Chronological Exploration and Bio-chemical and scientific warfare and soldiers. He didn't really have a problem with this mission, until he knew what it entailed him.

He groaned, "My God…a whole century and they didn't fix the goddamn elevator!" he cursed. He couldn't believe that in 2113, with all of the advanced technology in the universe, or any universe for that matter, and they couldn't make the lift go any faster. After WWIII and the New World War going on with the Alien race and interplanetary terrorists about 80 years ago, the U.S believed that they should "up the Ante." Since then, the planet Earth has become the most tech forward in the U.G.U., or United Galaxies of the Universe.

James leaned against the metal wall as a soft version of Scodal's _"Hammer Head Blues"_ played through the overhead speakers. He checked his wristwatch; he was early, as they'd told him to be. Something had the agency spooked, terrorist were speaking of using chronologic tech to "unleash the downfall of the planet." He didn't know nor did he care, he had his orders.

_Pick up the subjects and deliver them to the G9 Corp._ James thought, He just hoped that it would be as easy as they said it would be.

Just then the elevator groaned to a stop, made a solid _ding_, and, just to taunt him, the doors slowly creeped open. He rushed through and took his badge out of his front pocket, held it up to the small black ball next to the steel doors, it scanned his ID with a brief yellow light. The doors _wooshed_ open to reveal a large underground facility full of working scientists and others, typing on large computer screens. In the center was a holographic projection of a full scale war. James stared, mesmerized by the explosions, bullets, all surrounding a large light in the sky.

"Ah, Agent Lawson! You're here early," a kind voice rang out over the rest of the white noise.

Slightly startled James turned briskly. "Oh, hello Doctor Lee." He remembered Dr. Phillip Lee, the famous scientist that perfected time travel and created the ultimate soldiers. He was a dangerous and very smart man, but it really didn't show, He was skinny, had a mop of black hair and glasses. "Yeah, I am, but it is nice to see you again...boss," James said, his familiar crooked smile popping up.

"Yes well, I know this isn't a social visit, I hear you're here for my 'kids.'" James saw Dr. Lee make a face when he said it. He knew those soldiers of his give him a hard time, but he loved them like his own. Lee walked off. "This way," he called; James followed. They passed by some busy looking guys in white coats as they went.

They stopped at a door that read "OBSERVATION" and went inside; it was a small room, with a large window looking into a larger room, an interrogation room - the window was a two-way mirror - and on the other side were five young men and women, lounging around and looking bored.

_They couldn't be any older than 25, maybe younger, _James thought. "Are these they ones, they're a little young to be killing machines, don't you think Lee?" He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Lee just smiled. "Don't let that fool you," he explained, "About seventy years ago, fifty soldiers volunteered to under go a new bio-chemical enhancement for _Project SYNCLARE_. These were the only five to survive the intense treatment." As if on cue, the one kid in the center looked up right at James; he backed up, scared. His eyes were inhuman, inverted, the white of them were pitch black, while his pupils glowed white. "Mac, our first success, he prefers to use nothing but the blade. When we first started, we were a special group, going back to points of history, shifting, changing things as the government saw fit. Mac was responsible for President Nixon's 'resignation.'

Lee saw James staring into Mac's eyes. As everyone did, he looked back at Mac, who lowered his head and said something that sounded like, "We're being watched," but Lee ignored it and went on:

"Next, is her," he pointed to a redhead in a green army jacket, "Frankie. An experienced marksmen, never missed a shot...well…just one."

James turned to the man. "One?"

When he asked, Lee sighed. "We sent her in to try and change a major death in history…the JFK Assassination."

James looked shocked. "What…?"

Lee coughed, "This was when she was new, she swore she could do it: her mission was to kill Harvey lee Oswald…"

James thought for a minute. "The two-shot conspiracy. She missed her shot?" He asked; Lee simply nodded. James looked back to the window, Frankie's eyes were fixated on Lee, one changed colors constantly before stopping on grey.

"She wanted to go back but the machine couldn't handle it, she vowed to never miss again." She looked down, her shoulders sagged, ashamed. "Next is Goo…"

James held back a laugh. "G-Goo?" He managed.

"Yes, that is what she prefers to be called. She is our professional spy: quick, stealthy, and fluent in over fifteen-hundred languages. She is responsible for the previous two World Wars, many Revolutions, and a few officials being overthrown." Goo, a dark skinned girl with pig-tails, had a special set of eyes, one was blue, the other red, as if she had a twin, an evil twin. "Those two are Terrence and Bloo - both really special cases, I'm sure they'll tell you at some point."

James looked confused. "You don't know?"

Lee shrugged. "Nope."

The two men were just staring at each other, James couldn't see their eyes. Just then a loud laugh sounded, "Hello, Mr. Lawson, did you enjoy Doc's story?"

Lee sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, are you ready to meet your assignment, James?"

He just stared as Dr. Lee left the room and went down the hall to the next door; James followed and reached for the knob, but Lee stopped him. "Uh...I'd like to remind you they are a bit touchy when it comes to...well a lot of things, so try and keep calm, and no sudden moves," Lee warned. "Alright?"

He opened the door and all eyes went to James, Mac tossed a knife in the air, it lodged itself into the steel ceiling. "Hey Doc, I see you brought a friend," Frankie said quietly. Mac's eyes Glowed for a second before he stood up.

James gulped. _Yeah, easy, _he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter

II

~So Hard To Say It~

\/\/\/\/\/\/

Mac scrutinized the agent before him, his name was James Lawson - he had two daughters and lived with them and his wife in a swanky condo in L.A. He was just as tall as Mac, maybe an inch taller, he wore a freshly pressed Italian suit, Armani, and a white gold stud adorned his left ear, rather strange for a government lackey. He also had bright green eyes and pure blond hair, it looked spiked up. Mac was sure he was no ordinary lackey.

James held out his hand to him then he looked down, seeing the faint tremble and slight perspiration on his hand. He made a face. "Good afternoon, I'm going to have to ask all of you to come with me, please," he said nervously and silently cursed himself, _This is no time for civilian protocol! What are you, the police?_ He mentally chided himself.

There was an awkward silence, Dr. Lee cleared his throat, saving him: "What he means is he is here for the assignment I informed you all about," he said.

A light went off in Goo's head, she'd spied on Lee and Mac's meeting; she'd been hesitant at first, knowing the kind doctor would chastise her for sneaking around and being nosey, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She found herself in the air duct over Dr. Lee's office, Mac was seated at his desk, feet propped up on it while lee stared out over the central hub.

Mac sighed heavily, "I don't like this, Doc. What if this whole secret mission thing is just a plot to wipe out the rest of project S.Y.N.C.L.A.R.E.? They'll come after us, after you," he said; his tone was anxious.

Lee just sighed like he always does, "I...really don't know, but hey, you trust me don't you?" The doctor turned then, his eyes fixed on Mac, who looked away. Goo saw the embarrassment on his face.

"Yes, of course I do," he said matter-of-factly.

Lee walked over to him and put his hand on Mac's extended leg, "Then you have nothing to worry about," he said calmly.

Mac made a weird choking noise as he took his feet off the desk, he stood and inched towards the door. "Right, so...I'll go tell the others," he said nervously, he walked out, the door silently sliding closed behind him.

Goo tittered quietly, causing the doctor to look up at the vent, but it was too late, she had already disappeared.

"Okay, 'Law.' What do you need us to do?" Mac asked casually.

The agent was quiet for a moment, thinking. He finally settled with saying, "Gather up your things and meet me in the parking section in one hour. We'll proceed to the facility from there, then you train up."

James walked back from where he came. Lee looked back with sad eyes.

"Something tells me you two have a history… Lee?" Frankie said concernedly; she could see the Doc's disappointment a mile away.

He just gave a trademark sigh and nodded, "Yes, He used to remind me of you all, especially you, Mac." The Doctor looked in his direction, he just snorted.

Terrence was a bit skeptical. "I don't think anyone is like him," he said pointedly, tilting his head in the direction the agent had gone.

"Well, you all better get ready; I'll meet you up there to...see you off." Lee walked towards his office.

Bloo looked over at Mac, his eyes scrutinizing Mac's expression. Mac turned on him, their eyes met before he huffed and stormed off to his room. The others walked off separately, harboring mixed emotions, questions, and fears.

James sat in his twelve-seat GMC, checking his watch. _Just five more minutes,_ he thought. Just a little longer and he could leave without them. He could make up some story about them refusing the offer, anything to get him out of this, because, honestly, he was terrified. He didn't think he could handle a three day drive then a two day flight, it would be unbearable. He checked his watch again, praying for time to move faster, when:

"Hey! You weren't about to leave without us, were you?" James froze, Mac was at his window, knocking. The others were packed and ready, he turned and half-smiled, half- grimaced.

"Get in," he said, Mac walked around the front of the vehicle, opened the passenger door and sat, throwing his bag into the trunk area, it mad a loud _clang_ noise, like metal on metal.

James looked at him, his eyes narrowing, Mac just smiled "You said to pack."

He sighed, "I meant actual things you'd need, like clothes, did you even bring a damn toothbrush?"

Mac smiled wider, "Nope, don't need one. Perfect genetic construction, no plaque, decay, or disease. Plus, Lee has our clothes."

James looked at the other soldiers who were packing away thing in his car, he noticed they all had special cases with them, he had a bad feeling he knew exactly what was in them. Frankie had a very long rectangular case, Goo, an average sized square case, Bloo had what looked like a trombone case, and Terrence had a small case and a Laptop. These all went into the trunk, save the laptop, Goo's case, and Bloo had taken something out of his case and slipped it in his back pocket. James felt more like he was transporting a band than a deadly task force.

"Ah," he mumbled as he remembered something. He went into his glove compartment, grabbing a bag of sunglasses, he held it out to them, "Here, can't have you all attracting attention."

They all reached for a pair: Mac grabbed the grey ones, Frankie's red, Goo's Purple, Bloo's Light Blue, and Terrence's were yellow. James' were flat black.

"So how long is the trip, Agent Lawson?" Goo asked quietly,

James didn't answer; he was finishing a prayer for safe, or at least moderately normal, trip. "The ride will take about three days, the flight another two. So five days," he said, his voice was a bit edgy.

Mac had sensed his anxiousness and said, "Oh, don't worry. We'll try not to cause you too much trouble."

James sighed in relief, "Alright, let's get this show on the road. Did you want to say anything to the Doctor before we leave?" Just then, there was another knock on the passenger window.

Mac rolled it down, a small smirk on his face. "What's up, Doc?" he said, earning a few chuckles from the back. Lee just smiled at them, then looked at James with a slightly serious expression,

"You'll take good care of them, won't you 'JL'?" Lee said, his tone was laced with concern.

James grinned slightly; the old pet name brought back memories. "You know I will, 'DL,'" he said.

There was a collective "Aw!" from the rest of the truck and James' face lit up red, looking away from the doctor and into the distance of the open sky. He could hear the light snickers of suppressed laughter behind him. Lee leaned back out of the window, James shifted gears and pulled off.

He looked in the rearview to get a last look at Lee, but what his saw was a bit more interesting. The others were turned around, staring out the back window at their former home; James swore he heard some sniffles and saw some tears. He looked over at Mac, face devoid of emotion but dimmed eyes not nearly as bright and energized as before.

He looked back at him, mouthing the word, "What?"

James didn't speak, he just put on his shades and, thankfully, Mac did the same. He turned his head and looked out the window.

James knew that feeling, the feeling that you might never see home again.

...

A/N: Yeah, I know what you guys are saying, and you are right, I am making this to try and compensate for Chapter 7 not being up. And you know what the weird thing is...I'm writing Chapter 8 but still typing Chapter 7...


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